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The Lady Lions earned a No. 3 seed and will start the NCAA Tournament on March 24 in Baton Rouge, La.

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Lady Lions earn No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament

March 19, 2013

Lady Lions earn No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The No. 8/8 Penn State Lady Lions (25-5, 14-2) earned their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after claiming a No. 3 seed in the 2013 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament where they will face No. 14 Cal Poly (21-10, 13-5 Big West) on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. (ET) in Baton Rouge, La. The game will be televised regionally on ESPN2 and will be available on ESPN3.com

The Penn State-Cal Poly contest will be the first game of a doubleheader with No. 6 seed LSU (20-11, 10-6 SEC) facing No. 11 Green Bay (29-2, 16-0 Horizon) 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game on ESPN2. The winner of each game will face off in a second round matchup on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. This is the second consecutive year that Penn State has started its tournament at Baton Rouge.

Penn State is making its 24th NCAA Tournament appearance and third-straight. The Lady Lions are making three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since earning seven-straight berths from 1999-05. Penn State is one of only 11 teams to earn 24 or more NCAA Tournament berths. The Lady Lions are 29-23 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

Tickets in the Penn State block for the Lady Lions' NCAA First Round game will be available by calling 814-867-2758 beginning Tuesday, March 19 from 1-4:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, March 20 from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or by visiting the Athletic Ticket Office at the Bryce Jordan Center between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 11 a.m and 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Single sessions tickets for the Baton Rouge site are $15 for adults and $10 for youth, while All-Session tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth.

The Lady Lions and the Mustangs have never met on the hardwood. Penn State is 5-0 all-time against current Big West Conference teams. As for the other teams in the Baton Rouge bracket, Penn State is 4-2 all-time against LSU and 0-1 versus Green Bay. This is Penn State's fourth time playing in the state of Louisiana for the NCAA Tournament with two trips to Ruston, La. in 1999 and 2001 and a trip to Baton Rouge last season.

The Lady Lions enter the NCAA Tournament with a 25-5 overall record and a 14-2 mark in Big Ten play, garnering its second-straight Big Ten regular season title. Penn State's 14-2 record in conference play was its best mark since the 2003-04 squad went 15-1. Head coach Coquese Washington earned her second-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor, as her teams have improved their conference record in each of her six seasons as head coach. Washington's squad additionally finished the regular season with a 5-1 mark against ranked foes. Junior guard and Wooden Award Finalist Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) took home Big Ten Player of the Year honors and was voted first team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive year. Joining Lucas on the all-conference first team was senior Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.), who claimed first team accolades for the third straight season and also took home All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors. Junior Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) also earned All-Defensive Team accolades, while senior Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) was elected to the All-Big Ten third team by the coaches.